Originally published December 14 2005
Telecom to open Ferrit online shopping mall
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Over 100 retailers are offering a total of two million products through the site. Shoppers are able to check the availability and prices of goods using a search engine that searches across all the online stores.
Telecom chief operating officer Simon Moutter says Telecom will invest the best part of $15 million in Ferrit this financial year.
Mr Brayham says Ferrit is still gaining momentum with more than 100 retailers having now agreed to offer a total of two million products through the portal.
"We have got some of New Zealand's longest-established online retailers and others that are large retailers that have no or little online presence, through to niche retailers.
"We have been showing some of our key retail partners where we are at and we have committed that till both they and we feel their products and their brands are properly represented we are not going to go public."
The key feature of Ferrit that sets it apart from Xtra's existing online shopping mall is that it will let shoppers check the availability and prices of goods sold by participating retailers using a search engine that will search across all the online stores.
Mr Brayham says all the retailers Telecom has spoken to have asked, in one way or another, whether the online mall might erode retail margins by making it easier for online shoppers to compare prices - or else they already have an opinion.
Mr Brayham believes the ability of people to make multiple purchases from different retailers using a single online shopping cart with credit card payment secured by Telecom will ensure Ferrit will be better trafficked.
A risk is that online shoppers searching for the best prices will prefer to use generic search engines that can search the whole of the Internet, rather than visiting Ferrit.
The task of writing the software that lies behind the website was contracted out to e-commerce firm, Conduit, a subsidiary of NZX-lised computer distributor Renaissance.
There is continuing speculation Ferrit might be further developed to let shoppers search for second-hand products, sold through online auction sites and websites that list online classified advertisements.
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